The present invention relates generally to handling elongated rods and more particularly to a system for loading a group of nuclear fuel rods into a channel tray from a ramp.
Groups of newly manufactured nuclear fuel rods (containing fuel pellets) are loaded into channel trays for transportation between inspection stations along a nuclear fuel rod quality control inspection line. In the past, groups of such rods have been allowed to simply roll down the ramp and drop into the channel trays. What is needed is a system for the soft handling of such rods during their passage from the ramp to the bottom of the channel tray to minimize rod impact problems such as pellet fracture and tube scarring.